CBD oil for improved sleep

CBD Oil for Sleep

Despite all of the improvements I’ve made over the last few years sleep continues to be an issue. I’ve tried a lot of things and some of them work somewhat, helping me fall asleep easier for a time. But, it seems like they never last. My body grows accustomed to whatever it is. Also, even with those products I was still taking muscle relaxers and sometimes Ambien.

The conclusion I’ve come to as I’ve tracked my sleep patterns is that my sleep issues are largely gut related. When I eat something that I shouldn’t for dinner, I’m probably not going to sleep well. That something could be as simple as tomatoes, or a glass of wine. On the other hand, those same foods might not bother me on a different night. It seems to do with combinations of foods and the timing (how close to bedtime). However, I think I’ve finally found an answer…

CBD oil is the best thing I’ve found for sleep.

 

Cannibinoid oil (CBD) has undergone both a lot of research and a lot of scrutiny. CBD is one of two main chemicals in marijuana. CBD is the chemical that provides both stress and pain relief benefits of marijuana (basically all the good stuff) and THC is what creates the high feeling.

The legality of CBD oil varies from state to state. Big Pharma has been working to create synthetic cannibinoid medications as well. A study by Ware, Fitzcharles, Joseph,  & Shir (2010) compared the effects of a synthetic CBD medications to amitryptiline on sleep among fibromyalgia patients. (Amitryptiline is a common antidepressant used to help improve sleep in fibro patients.) The synthetic CBD medication outperformed amitryptiline on sleep improvement.

Another study by Chagas et al (2014) looked at the effects of CBD oil on REM sleep disorder. REM sleep disorder is associated with night terrors and active behavior during dreaming (brings to mind night terrors).

While this study was small they found that the patients had “prompt and substantial reduction” in REM sleep disorder events. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a ton of research on this, but personal experiences seem to indicate that what these two studies show is true.

With most CBD oils on the market there are very small trace amounts of THC still in the oil. This is a result of the extraction process. While it’s not a big deal for many, it might cause issues if you have to be drug tested for any reason as it might show up on the test.

However, some CBD oils are isolate oils, meaning that the extraction process used has stripped all traces of THC from the oil. Such is the case with Liberty Lixir 1000 ULTRA.

 

Loving this Liberty Lixir CBD oil from @libertylotion has been amazing for sleep. I’ve actually been able to stop taking muscle relaxers at bedtime. #bettersleep #cbd #cbdoil #libertylixir #libertylotion

A post shared by Julie Ryan Counting My Spoons (@countingmyspoons) on May 31, 2017 at 2:51pm PDT

I use topical CBD oil products and have for a couple of years now. I’ve found that they do help with my pain in a great way. The difference post surgery with and without the CBD pain patch was like night and day. So, when I was given the opportunity to try Liberty Lixir I kind of jumped at the chance. This was not my first foray into oral CBD oils. I’d tried one other, but it was mixed with lots of other stuff and while it tasted good it really didn’t give me any benefits.

Liberty Lixir 1000 ULTRA comes in a little pump bottle. The recommended dosage on the Liberty Lixir 1000 is 3-5 drops every 4-6 hours.

The first night I received the product I tried it with 3 drops and for a change I dropped off to sleep without even looking at my book. Out like a light, as they say. The next day I tried it during the day and then again later in the evening and over the next few days I took it a couple of times a day, lowering the amount to 2-3 drops at a time. Unfortunately, I found that taking it multiple times a day created a bit of heartburn for me, so I backed off and just continued to take it at night.

My sleep improved dramatically and immediately. The only downside was that along with falling asleep really fast, I also wasn’t wanting to wake up in the morning. I backed the nightly dosage down to just 2 drops and found that I still fell asleep quickly and slept well through the night.

Over time, the morning grogginess also went away. You can take a look at the fitbit tracking below to see the before and after. Before it was rare for me to get much more than 6 hours of sleep in a 10 hour sleep window. These days I typically get about 8 hours of sleep in the same window.

Also, because it was having such a huge effect on my sleep, I decided to try decreasing (and then eliminating the muscle relaxer I usually take before bed. I didn’t need it. I think having both may have actually been what caused me to have the morning grogginess.

So, not only was I able to get great results from less than the standard dose, I was able to get good enough results that I cut one of my prescriptions out.

In the two images below you can see my sleep before I started taking Liberty Lixir, and then the week that I started taking it (and evidently forgot it a time or two). It’s a pretty big change. It wasn’t just the tracking that told me things were different either. I actually felt like I was sleeping and not waking up every few hours.

People have asked about whether it’s helped me with pain. And, that’s a harder question to answer. My friend Tom also tried Liberty Lixir 1000 ULTRA and had great pain relief.

That said, I’ve had a LOT going on with me lately that I would expect would increase my pain and all of my symptoms. But, those symptoms have not increased, they’ve held steady. Despite the stressful events, my anxiety has not increased, nor has my pain or fatigue. I’m holding steady.

It may be a combination of all that I’ve been doing for the last several months, but I started taking Liberty Lixir about the same time that the stress began to increase, so I can’t help but believe that it’s helping keep things steady.

 

CBD oil for improved sleep Share on X

I honestly went into trying this product not expecting much. So, I was really surprised at how much it helped me. Liberty Lixir helped me enough that after that initial bottle was empty I bought several more bottles and have continued to use it.

Update 1 Year Later…..

I have continued to take Liberty Lixir at bedtime for the last year and I’ve continued to get the best sleep I’ve had in years. I took a break a couple of times (to try other brands, and once because I ran out) and I can definitely tell a difference when I’m using it.

After about a week without it my sleep quality declines and time to fall asleep increases. Also, I’ve cut my muscle relaxer at bedtime and haven’t needed anything else to help me sleep.

Liberty Lixir is amazing!

If you do decide to try Liberty Lixir, you can save 10% off your entire order with the coupon code: COUNTINGSPOONS.

 

 

References:

Chagas, M. H. N., Eckeli, A. L., Zuardi, A. W., Pena‐Pereira, M. A., Sobreira‐Neto, M. A., Sobreira, E. T., … & Tumas, V. (2014). Cannabidiol can improve complex sleep‐related behaviours associated with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder in Parkinson’s disease patients: a case series. Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics, 39(5), 564-566.

Ware, M. A., Fitzcharles, M. A., Joseph, L., & Shir, Y. (2010). The effects of nabilone on sleep in fibromyalgia: results of a randomized controlled trial. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 110(2), 604-610.